Bullying and Suicide

It seems that bullying and discrimination have grown from innocent name calling to porposely hurting people physically and mentally. One of the most serious effects of bullying can be suicide. The Center for Disease control states that 45,00 people die from suicide from each year. About ten years ago, I was in second grade. I wasn’t exposed to bullying, only innocent name calling that is not meant to hurt you. However, in recent years I noticed how many kids as young as eight years old have commited suicide, partly because they were bullied by a classmate. At this point it’s getting out of hand. 

Hate Crimes

Bullying and discrimination don’t just end in death when the victim takes their life, it also happens when the aggressor kills the victim. In 2019 alone more than 20 trans-women were murdered, most of them women of color. We live in an extremely hateful world, and I feel like now hateful people are getting too comfortable with expressing their hate. The killing of trans-women can easily be categorized as racial discrimination as well. As I mentioned before, most victims were black. This means not only were they killed for their sexual orientation, they were killed for being black as well. Victims were just living their lives and did not deserve to die. For example, Dana Martin was shot and killed in Montgomery, Alabama. She was said to be someone who was loved by many. 

Hair Discrimination 

Racial discrimination is still a huge problem, especially in high schools and colleges. One big issue has been hair discrimination, where many black students have been punished by their schools because of their natural hair. One case in particular involved 16-year-old Andrew Johnson in late 2018. Before a wrestling match, referee Alan Moleny forced him to cut off his dreadlocks. A video of the incident soon surfaced online, and there were mixed reactions. Many celebrities, including pro-athletes, supported Andrew, while there were others who supported the ref. This has not been the only recent incident. Earlier this year, film director Mathew A. Cherry invited Deandre Arnold as his guest to the Academy Awards. Deandre is a high school senior who was told he could not walk with the rest of his class at graduation. School officials told him he had to, like Andrew Johnson, cut off his dreadlocks. Mathew A. Cherry at that time was nominated for an oscar for his short film Hair Love. When he heard of this news he invited Deandre. 

Cyber Assault

Racial discrimination involves cyber assualt also. Online there have been multiple incidents where white students filmed themselves using racial slurs. One incident was at the University of Connecticut. An eleven second video surfaced involving three white students shouting the n-word. The students were eventually arrested. 

Close to Home

Incidents like this happen close to home as well. On February 4th, 2019 a Snapchat post began circulating online. The post contained many hateful words and racial slurs targeting certain groups of students here in Farmingdale. A group of Farmingdale students saw the post and decided to do something about it. Pretty soon, FHS students Carl Bacette, Madison Outing, Natasha Pineda, Jayden Grant, Sabestian Alveraz, Olivia Fergurason, and Heaven Diaz put together R.E.A.L. Harmony, Farmingdale’s newest club.